Dems push Facebook on privacy

Democrats on the Senate’s newest privacy panel are urging Facebook to “reverse” a plan that would allow app developers the ability to request access to users’ addresses, phone numbers and other contact information.

It’s the strongest signal of concern yet coming from Capitol Hill, where other members have questioned Facebook’s new feature since the social network disabled it amid controversy in January.

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This time, the letter is from Sens. Al Franken (D-Minn.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). The lawmakers stress that access to a user’s contact information threatens a person’s other sensitive data — including his or her e-mail address and family members’ names.

The members are calling on Facebook to “reconsider this policy,” or at least “block this feature for Facebook users between 13 and 17 years of age.”

Franken and his colleagues are also asking Facebook to disclose to users clearly how this information can be abused. They would like to require — if “operationally possible” — that all apps still be available to users who decline to grant apps access to their contact information.

“The changes Facebook is contemplating would allow countless application developers to access a vast repository of personal information with just one or two clicks from a user’s mouse,” wrote Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s new privacy panel, which Franken chairs.

“In our opinion, the risks presented by these changes are too high — especially for thirteen- or fourteen-year-olds who may have no conception of the consequences for disclosing this kind of information,” they continued.

A spokesman for Facebook said Wednesday that the company "appreciate[s] all of the feedback we're getting on this issue, and that feedback will inform the decisions we make as we continue to develop the feature."

"We believe there is great value in letting people choose to share information about themselves on Facebook, just as they are voluntarily registering this information on sites across the Web, and offline in ways as simple as a return address sticker," the spokesman continued.

"Despite rumors, apps and external websites cannot access a user's address or phone number from Facebook without that user’s permission. People are always in control of what information they share through our service," the spokesman said.